Environmentalists dress up as rabbits to protest against a solar farm in Hampshire

Activists opposed to the construction of a large solar farm near the site that inspired Watership Down have dressed up as rabbits to protest the development.

Plans for the solar farm, which were first unveiled last year, have faced a backlash from residents who say the “green corridor” and ancient forests should not be “destroyed” to make way for the plant.

This place on the border between Hampshire and Berkshire is said to have inspired Richard Adams to write his 1972 novel about a group of rabbits escaping the destruction of their cave.

To protest against the investment, activists dressed up as bunnies and lied under solar panels near posters saying “Grass not glass” and “It doesn’t belong in this beautiful area.”

Solar development company Anglo Renewables last month applied for official permission on the Basingstoke and Deane planning portal to build a “renewable energy generating station” at Strattons Farm in Kingsclere, Hampshire.

Over 300 objections were submitted

Since then, the site has received over 300 objections from angry residents who said the site was unsuitable for such a development.

Sheilah Openshaw described the area known as Watership Down as a “peaceful landscape” and “an area of ​​natural beauty”.

The resident, who took up scuba diving in retirement, has a “passionate interest in conservation,” but said the development raises the question “What’s more important, food or energy?”

Ms Openshaw was part of a campaign earlier this month where protesters informed local people about the plans.

Photos from the protest show “rabbits” trapped under solar panels.